Ryan Coogler aware of potential Oscar history ahead but focused on 'Sinners' team before ceremony

Ryan Coogler arrives at MACRO's 8th Annual Pre-Oscars Party celebrating nominees of color Thursday, March 12, 2026, at Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

LOS ANGELES — Ryan Coogler understands what Sunday night could mean for Oscar history. He’s just not dwelling on it.

Instead, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker is looking forward to spending one more night with his “Sinners” collaborators who helped bring the film to life.

Coogler could become the first Black filmmaker to win best director in the Academy Awards’ nearly century-long history. While speaking before the eighth annual Macro Pre-Oscars party Thursday night in Los Angeles, he said he’s trying to stay present as the ceremony approaches.

“I’m just trying to enjoy the days as they come, stay present in the moment,” Coogler told The Associated Press. “When Sunday comes, man, I’m pull up and enjoy celebrating all the movies that’s being celebrated here, including our own.”

For Coogler, the Oscars also mark the final stop in a monthslong journey shared with the cast and creative team behind “Sinners.”

Since early January, the group has traveled the awards circuit together, appearing at major stops including the Golden Globes,Actors Awards and NAACP Image Awards as the film built momentum ahead of the Oscars, where it’s the leading nominee with 16.

Coogler said that experience helped turn the production into something closer to a family.

“We made a big ole family,” he said. “Sunday kind of represents the last time that we all get to hang with each other in an official capacity as the ‘Sinners’ team.”

After the ceremony, those gatherings will likely become less frequent.

“The next time we see each other, it won’t be for this movie unless it’s doing like a reunion or something,” Coogler said. “I’m looking forward to hanging out with a lot of people that I love. We were able to do something very specific together.”

The cast and creative team of “Sinners” were among those honored Thursday at the Macro party, which celebrates nominees of color across the film industry.

Hosted by Macro founder and CEO Charles D. King and Chief Brand Officer Stacey Walker King, the eighth annual gathering has become a sought-after event, drawing more than 700 attendees — which included Damson Idris, Coco Jones and Janelle James.

“I could not be more excited about ‘Sinners’ nominations,” Stacey Walker King said. “I could not be more excited about the way that we’re showing up on these carpets and in these areas.”

Charles D. King said Coogler’s influence on the industry already represents a meaningful achievement.

“He’s already winning,” King said. “To be able to be this filmmaker who can inspire and entertain the world and then be acknowledged by their peers within our artistic industry is icing on the cake.”

“Sinners,” a supernatural drama set in the American South that blends historical storytelling, folklore and genre filmmaking, stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles and continues the actor’s long creative partnership with Coogler.

Previous Black filmmakers nominated for best director at the Oscars include John Singleton, Lee Daniels, Barry Jenkins, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee.

Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press